Should there be an option to opt out of lateral flow tests for secondary school students?

[Dailywalk]

Assuming a child has no issues in terms of SEN, should it be optional?

Personally i don’t have a problem with my children being tested. If that’s what is required for schools to reopen and for staff to feel a bit safer then that’s what has to be done. It will be time consuming and it isn’t a pleasant experience but it’s playing your part in society and staying home if you are found to have the virus but not displaying symptoms.

Or...if rates are low, is it unnecessary?

Wondered what other people think?

Different people have different opinions and ideas about stuff and it's not that hard to use your imagination to work out why some may not consent.
E.g. have already had covid/ believe in conspiracy theories/ don't want to have to isolate/don't want child to experience discomfort/ think the tests are not accurate and therefore pointless.
I will consent if my child does but I think it's important that it is voluntary.

@MechantGourmet I won’t consent because on discussing it my teenage daughter was very worried about having the tests in front of people at school. She is very worried about being sick. She’s old enough to make an informed decision and I don’t believe anyone should be forced into any medical procedure regardless of whether it is considered invasive or not.

By the way, thank you for asking in a non-judgemental way!

To those who believe the tests should be compulsory, how invasive would a test need to be before you believe consent should be obtained? At what point is the line drawn. Not intending to sound goady, genuinely interested in your thoughts.

Also, does anyone else believe that testing teens so regularly will give them a false sense of security and encourage them to mix outside of the current regulations. Not all parents will ensure that children continue to follow the rules.

Thank you @MrsWhites I appreciate your response.

There is an option and it's right that there is. The students who refuse are most likely to be of those with other issues (not necessarily SEN) that already put them at a disadvantage educationally.

No child should be refused education for lack of a test (or a mask).

I think the comments about how well people actually tolerate testing varying from person to person is important and overlooked by people who presumably have little trouble with the covid testing. I had my first today due to a high temperature, couldn't physically get a throat swab due to severe distress and retching. I had to get DH to try to do them due to distress. He did two nose swabs instead in the end, one caused pain in my nostril which is ongoing (he's a clinician and trained to administer them, so it wasn't due to poor technique). I found it very distressing but I have ASD so I'm assuming that's related. He accidentally caught my tongue briefly when trying to do throat swab so my result may be inconclusive too which is fitting. I would rather have like 5 smears than one covid test - I don't everyone feels the same as me on that for me example! Just wanted to highlight how testing experiences really aren't the same for everyone particularly those of us with additional needs. There is absolutely no way in hell I could do two tests a week, thank God I don't work in healthcare like DH.

I am doing LTFs at DS school. The children are great, they are key worker children and have been doing them twice a week since they went back. I think once schools get started most children will feel left out if they don’t have them. Teenagers (most) don’t like to be “special” so will probably be uncomfortable if all their friends are happily complying.
It really isn’t a big deal. They do the swab themselves. Testers are trained to give encouragement and be sympathetic. No needles or blood is involved. It’s all over and done with in two or three minutes.

None of these threads are ever to 'understand'.

Well this must be the first then? I asked the question because I felt I can’t in RL. I genuinely want to know why someone might object to testing as I personally can’t see any reason why. That’s not to say there aren’t any as some posters have expressed. They’re entitled to that opinion. I respect their decision.

I have no problem with dd1 doing the tests but she is adamant she doesn't want to and, at 13 years old I'm not going to force her.

Ok. Here goes.

I want to opt out because I dont agree with the mass screening program.

I think it is not a good use of resources and time and the government have wasted money on these tests.

I think they were purchased as part of this operation moonshot idea that Dominic Cummings had.

There are many false negatives. Roughly 50% of infections or maybe more won't be picked up. I think we would pick up more infections by pcr testing children with additional symptoms from the current ones we test for. In children symptoms can be fleeting as well. My daughter only briefly had a temp with covid. I think families could get false reassurance from a negative lateral flow test and not do a pcr test increasing spread.

There are false positives. In a secondary school there will be about six each week. This could lead to a lot of disruption unnecessarily depending on how many children are deemed to be close contracts.

It looks like once the initial period is over and the children are being tested at home there will be a confirmatory pcr test. But I don't know what will happen to the contact tracing and isolation requirements. Perhaps lots of children will have to go home and come back.

In short I think it seems an expensive program which might actually make things worse rather than better.

@BlackbirdOtto

Maybe she won’t get paid to self isolate if her daughter tests positive. Will she be able to pay her rent /mortgage with no income ? Unless you are already on benefits there is no help in this situation. A lot of people fear poverty and can’t afford to do the right thing unfortunately. Maybe ask her kindly.

This I agree will be a big reason but not the reason given. Low earners but not on benefits are in a no win situation.

@rawalpindithelabrador

None of these threads are ever to 'understand'.

I was actually impressed at how well this thread has gone. I’ll be honest it has made me more understanding.

False positive is actually only 0.3% I think, with the Innova at least.
The drawback with them is that the infections picked up decrease with the competency of the user, so members of the public will only get a 50% success rate of a positive test compared to PCR. However, it will detect those with the highest viral load and therefore the highest chance of passing it on, so the ‘superspreaders’ as they were calling them before.

@SingingWaffleDoggy problem is that 0.38% false positives means three new false positive cases each time you test a secondary school of 1000. So six each week on average.

That's a lot of children being sent home if they send back the class, option groups etc. If they only isolate contacts following a subsequent positive pcr or reduce the number of contacts they send back it won't be so bad.

My child's school will be sending home 100s of children unnecessarily if they stick to their previous policy. And it will keep happening because every few days there will be more false positives showing up.

@SpringHasSprung12 I presumed they would be PCR testing those with positive LFT’s, as that’s what they do at most workplaces. But if they don’t I see your point about the amount of children it will impact in turn.

I consented but we arent for DD as she has additional needs and became very distressed on an earlier test. She wont be able to administer it on herself as required.

I offered to (a nurse in a former life) but they declined and said it wasnt necessary

The people not consenting. What ever are they thinking is the reason that the rest of us are doing it???? 🤔 For shits and giggles??

I think that is should definitely be by consent. Unlike masks for secondary which I think should be mandatory or else online learning. However I can't see why anyone wouldn't consent. Aprt from a few people with sen kids or for a few medical reasons.

If we want to open schools before the middle of Easter this is the only way. They won't stay open if not.

@Dontfuckingsaycheese

The people not consenting. What ever are they thinking is the reason that the rest of us are doing it???? 🤔 For shits and giggles??

Makes you wonder doesn't it

I didnt give consent because my two said they don't want to do it. The idea of it terrifies my younger ds.
I spoke to the school and told them that if at any point they change their mind, I will give my consent.

But until then, I am not giving it so that no teacher can apply pressure onto them.

@SingingWaffleDoggy at my child's school they kept sending home about 90 children as close contacts each time one tested positive. So 6 false positives a week would mean hundreds of children at home.

With PCR confirmation it would be better provided the contact isolation didn't occur after the initial LFT was done. I read the guidance and it wasn't very clear what would happen.

Otherwise would be Monday everyone tests, 3 false positives 250 children sent home. Wednesday PCRs negative 250 children sent back. Thursday everyone tests another round of false positives and children sent home.

That's not to mention some children actually having symptomatic covid.

I also worry that by trying so hard to suppress transmission of asymptomatic covid we could favour the transmission of more dangerous strains.

It’s clear it’s because people don’t want to know of their child has covid unless symptomatic. It would inconvenience them if they then had to isolate. Fingers crossed we avoid the inconvenience of lockdown number 3, 4 and 5!

My DS had Covid a month ago so can’t be tested at the moment however I have bought a load of lateral flow tests to try him at home so as soon as he shows negative he can be tested at school. I think it’s incredibly important. I’m a TA and my positive showed up on my Lateral Flow test I did at home. I had no symptoms at that point (And DS had no symptoms at all) so would have been infecting the school had he have gone in.
I’m not seeing that it’s a medical procedure at all and for a NT child there should be no real reason why they can’t do it themselves. It’s a swab up your nose. It’s much smaller than the PCR swab so it’s better to do that to try abc keep the disease under control in our schools than constant PCR tests which I agree aren’t pleasant.

I could have it completely wrong but from what understand LFT show positive when a person is in the infectious stage, not in the (long?) period afterwards. The other type of test shows positive when a person is infectious and a short period before and a long time after. Neither test is perfect or shows that very first stage when someone is just infected.

If a test shows only shows positive in a person’s infectious time then for me that is still very useful. Yes it may miss some cases but no test is perfect.